Comelec clears roadblock to internet voting with completed source code

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The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier said it hopes the decision to postpone internet voting enrollment for overseas Filipinos would enable the Comelec to ensure the overseas voting system passes all tests and certification

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is one step closer to implementing the first internet voting mechanism in Philippine elections as it received the source code from its international partner for the overseas voting system on Monday, March 10.

International certification entity Pro V&V Incorporated conducted the trusted build for the overseas voting and counting system (OVCS) on Saturday, March 8, and turned it over to the Comelec on Monday.

Pre-enrollment of registered overseas voters, the first step to internet voting, was meant to begin on Monday, but it was moved to March 20.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said that this completed the trusted build process of the system, and that US-based Pro V&V’s remaining two weeks in the Philippines will be for extra quality assurance tests and source code review.

The additional tests that Pro V&V will be conducting will not be affected by the Comelec’s depositing of the source codes with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which is expected to happen on March 24.

“As far as we are concerned, the source code of the machine, the source code of the CCS (consolidation and canvassing system), the transmission, and even the tools to be used in the technical hubs, are all done. Those were finished back in February, and now this [OVCS] is done now too,” said Garcia in a mix of English and Filipino.

While the source codes are complete, the Technical Evaluation Committee still has to certify the automated election system (AES). Garcia likened the source codes to parts of a car — that the parts are finished individually, but the TEC has to certify that when put together, the car, or AES, will run.

The law authorizing the Comelec to use an AES requires the TEC, composed of representatives from the Comelec, and science and information technology departments, to certify the integrated technology. The participation of an international certification entity is also required by the law.

The Comelec earlier said that one of the reasons the TEC has not been able to issue AES certification by the three-month deadline was because of the added OVCS system in this year’s elections. For the first time, the Philippines will be conducting internet voting for overseas Filipinos.

Garcia had said the postponement of pre-enrollment was done “per request” of the Philippine diplomatic posts abroad. On Sunday, March 9, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) welcomed the postponement if it meant more scrutiny into the system.

“The Department hopes Comelec’s decision for postponement shall enable it to ensure that the OVCS passes all the testing and certification required by Republic Act 9369, the Election Automation Law of 2007, prior to its launch,” the DFA said.

The DFA said it was ready to implement the OVCS upon Comelec’s direction.

Security

Pro V&V president and director Jack Cobb said that should there be any issues in the source code, he does not expect them to be major, as the last weeks since the original trusted build in January were a constant process of finding small issues and fixing them.

“If they do find something, I don’t expect it to be major where it’s going to affect the election at all. This is going to be something like, maybe Tokyo can’t report through the OVCS, and it’s a single place, or some specific thing that’s going to be easily fixed. And then we do the build, and the build takes an hour… and have it back out in two days from beginning to end,” said Cobb.

Cobb and Garcia also noted the difficulty in compromising the system. All packets that go through the system are encrypted, and transmissions are protected by firewalls and virtual private networks, Cobb said. Garcia noted how telcos have set up an exclusive network for the Comelec.

Cobb refrained from claiming the system to be “hack-proof,” but still noted how difficult it would be without time and resources.

“If it’s me sitting in my basement in my pajamas trying to hack, no, that’s not going to happen. But if you’re somebody like China who has unlimited or a huge amount of resources…. Now we’ve still got time on our side because these things are not going to be deployed, but only for a specific amount of time. They don’t have enough time to then learn it,” said Cobb.

The overseas voting period will take place from April 30 to May 12. Apart from the new internet voting mode, which will take place in most areas of the world, some areas will still implement personal and postal voting in the Philippine embassies and consulates. – Rappler.com